Miley Cyrus Drops Official Trailer for 'Something Beautiful' Visual Album
Summary
Miley Cyrusis embarking on her most ambitious artistic endeavor yet with the upcoming release ofSomething Beautiful, a ninth studio album that's also a full-length visual film. The artist drops the official trailer in anticipation of the visual album, which she co-directed herself alongside Jacob Bixenman and Brendan Walter.
The trailer previews a 'pop opera fueled by fantasy,' showcasing a stunning array of visuals. Viewers see Miley cloaked in a black veil, walking through a film studio, and performing on a backlot stage in a striking green bikini top and feathered chaps. These dynamic scenes are intercut with snippets of new music, including the track 'Easy Lover,' and text proclaiming '13 original songs,' promising a rich auditory and visual experience.
Inspired by Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' and the film 'Mandy,' 'Something Beautiful' delves into themes of healing, transformation, and finding beauty even in destruction and heartbreak. The album artwork, captured by Glen Luchford, features Cyrus in an archival 1997 Thierry Mugler couture piece, signalling the project's bold aesthetic and high-fashion influence. The album is set for release on May 30, 2025, via Columbia Records. The accompanying 55-minute visual film will have its world premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Festival on June 6, followed by a limited theatrical release in the US and Canada on June 12, and then globally on June 27.
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Miley Cyrus responde a todas nuestras preguntas
La vida entera de Miley Cyrus ha estado marcada por la fama. Nació en el apogeo de la popularidad de su padre, Billy Ray Cyrus, y pasó su infancia asistiendo a sus conciertos de música country, en los que las entradas se agotaban. A los 13 años, se convirtió ella misma en una estrella —y en una parte importante de la maquinaria Disney— como la protagonista de Hannah Montana, interpretando a una chica común de día y a una estrella del pop de noche y convirtiéndose en un referente cultural para los niños milénials. Cuando Cyrus dejó la serie, ya tenía decenas de éxitos en la lista de Billboard Hot 100, pero el respeto de la industria y de los creadores de tendencias era más difícil de conseguir. Al igual que muchas mujeres que habían sido estrellas infantiles, su transición a la edad adulta estuvo marcada por la polémica (cuando bailó twerking con Robin Thicke en los Video Music Awards de 2013) y los juicios (el Parents Television Council condenó la presentación), que hoy recuerda con cierta amargura por el trato que recibió. Ahora, a sus 33 años, Cyrus es una de las reinas actuales del pop, un estatus cimentado gracias a su primer premio Grammy por su megaéxito de 2023 'Flowers'. Acaba de publicar su noveno álbum de estudio, Something Beautiful, y dice que es su intento de reimaginar lo que 'hermoso', beautiful en inglés, significa: la muerte de su querida abuela, por ejemplo, o la rabia, que dijo que es hermosa porque 'te hace saber que estás vivo'. También hablamos largo y tendido sobre su estrecha relación con su madre, Tish Cyrus-Purcell, su relación reparada con su padre y cómo ha aprendido a protegerse en un mundo que sigue fascinado por todo lo que hace. Pero empezamos hablando de la primera vez que la entrevisté, cuando su sinceridad y franqueza, sinceramente, me pusieron los pelos de punta. transcript Miley Cyrus Told Us to Ask Her Anything 'Ariana says that there should be the therapy for child actors, which I totally agree.' 'Who's the dress?' 'Miley!' 'Miley, to your right!' 'Miley!' 'Wow! Beautiful.' 'This is 'The Interview.' I'm Lulu Garcia-Navarro, and this week I'm speaking with Miley Cyrus. Miley Cyrus has been famous almost her whole life. She's the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus of 'Achy Breaky Heart' fame.' [singing] 'Don't tell my heart, my achy breaky heart.' 'But she got her own start as the star of Disney's 'Hannah Montana,' where she played a regular girl by day and a pop star by night. She then became an actual pop star.' [singing] 'I came in like a wrecking ball.' 'Kind of anti-Disney pop star, though. Who can forget her 2013 performance at the V.M.A.s, where she twerked with Robin Thicke? Now it's many albums later, she just won her first Grammy last year, and she's out with a new album called 'Something Beautiful.'' [singing] 'Said I don't want to talk about it.' 'We sat down to talk about all of it.' 'I don't need anyone to commit to taking care of me, but don't say you will.' 'Here's my conversation with Miley Cyrus.' [music playing] 'How was the Met Gala?' 'Met Gala, Met Galas.' 'Met Galas.' 'Where you're kind of sitting with strangers. I sat this year with Cartier, because I was wearing Alaia who does not have a table.' 'OK' 'So I was kind of the misfit, which I'm always OK with. I'm used to that. It was fine. But it's just an interesting situation, because everything that makes you comfortable is taken from you.' 'Mm.' 'I think they should add that you get a plus one for your stylist.' 'That's why people go with their designer sometimes.' 'Right. Totally. And my designer is dead.' 'So who were you sitting with, then?' 'I sat with a bunch of people that I didn't really know. But I always make friends there. I really like Jon Batiste. I thought he was so cool.' 'I love him.' 'He was my most memorable guest, because I just sat and talked to him forever.' 'Yes.' 'He's super awesome. He sat down. The first thing he asked me was, 'What's your favorite key to sing in,' which no one's ever asked me before. And he goes, 'I'm guessing it's a G or a C, but I think F would probably be your ceiling,' and said that right away. I'm like, you're my friend. I like you.' 'And what is your favorite key?' 'He was right, G and C. He was spot on. He was amazing.' 'All right, we're going to talk a little bit about the past. Just going to talk a little bit about, obviously, your new music. So we're just going to wander, whatever. You want to take a break, by all means.' 'I appreciate it. I feel good. I like being in this room. This room is good.' 'Oh, we like it.' 'Yeah.' 'All right, this is good.' 'I've got a pretty good compass of where I feel at home now. And so just being able to sit in a space where you feel really safe, always you get more clarity and more honesty. That's what I'm always looking for.' 'I've interviewed you before.' 'You look really familiar to me.' 'No, we never saw each other, because I was at NPR.' 'Voice.' 'I was a new host back then. I hadn't done a lot of celebrity interviews. And you came on and said, ask me anything, anything at all. It's no holds barred. And I had no idea what to do with that.' 'Uh-huh.' 'I literally just froze and thought, I don't know what to ask Miley Cyrus if she's saying ask me anything. And I was wondering, as I've watched you kind of evolve, if you would say something like that now starting an interview.' 'It depends who I'm with. I think I would say something like that now, but with maybe just paying a little closer attention. But yeah, you can ask me anything. Because now I learned that I'm in control, which is probably why I said it to you then. The worst that happens is I just leave the room and say, I'll be right back, and then just don't come back.' 'I'd love for you to explain what that means for you now, when you have this idea of being in control, and being safe, and understanding what your own boundaries are and how you interact with people. Why is that so —' 'Yeah. Because it's animalistic. It's like everything will change the moment that anyone or any animal is unsafe. It's like we all have our different kind of tellers. Mine is all in the throat, which makes so much sense. It's where I feel everything. I can feel a tightness, or a shortness of breath. Or I can feel like my skin change of when I feel that I'm not completely safe. And I've given myself a mantra, 'don't run,' because I don't want to leave situations that make me uncomfortable. Because that's what life is. We've got to be comfortable being uncomfortable. But I also am the mother to myself. I mother me.' 'How does that play out? I mean, I love that. I've never really heard that.' 'Because my mom no longer travels with me, because I'm 33 years old and it was getting ridiculous. And now she's an adult and I'm an adult. And it was really important for me to — I never want to say detached from my mom, because we're so close. I mean, I'll get tears in my eyes even talking about her, I just love her so much. But I, at one point —' 'Of course, we're talking about Tish.' 'Yes, Tish, my mom. She's everything. I had to learn that there might be — and if nature plays its course in the way that it does, I will be an individual without my mom at some point in my lifetime. And that used to just completely paralyze me in fear. And so I guess the reason I said I mother me is because I don't have my mom with me the way that I used to. And now I just go, what was it about her that made everything better? And it was safety again. Because I knew any situation that I was in that I didn't feel safe in, my mom would get me out of it, or make it better, figure out what it is that was making me feel that way, and her help me adjust it. And so now I just imagine what soothed me so much about her, and then I just do it for myself.' 'You have been famous forever, it feels like.' 'Mm-hmm.' 'And these past few years have been absolutely huge for you. Last year, you won your first Grammy for your song 'Flowers' off your last album. And you exuded so much joy and so much gratitude. And so I'm wondering why winning meant so much.' 'So I think I never admitted to myself how much it hurt me to not always be recognized for my work. And I had a lot of songs that — 'Flowers' isn't my only big song. I've had other big songs. But it was the time that I got recognized for it. And I think I've hidden behind 'it didn't matter,' because then every time it happens annually, it would have hurt. And so when I finally did get recognized, again, it was just an extra layer of that bandage over something that I didn't even know really hurt me. And now I have enough understanding to say I don't need to win — but like anyone, I want to.' 'Why do you think it took so long?' 'I think when you do things your own way, you're always, respectfully, a little bit ahead. Because I like to open the door. It's nice when someone opens it for you. But I kind of like to be in front and open the door myself. And I think women that are loud, and open with their sexuality, I don't want to hide behind that. But I do think something of my — there is a couple of things. Let's go back. I think from starting from being on Disney, you already have something that you kind of have to overcome. Which I've never understood needing to overcome Disney, or being Hannah Montana, because Hannah Montana was a singer. And the music — I was never nominated for best new artist, which was totally cool with me. But at one point, I just think I kind of was the best new artist. And if it wasn't the best, it was the most impactful to a certain generation, that there should be some recognition for that. And also, the amount of work that I was putting in was so heavy. So I think with the Grammys, it was, like, overcoming Disney, overcoming the character. And then when I left the character behind, all the way behind, it was like, O.K., cut. I am officially so me that I think I just went so many steps ahead really fast, and I don't think that everyone could completely keep up. But then also, female rebellion has always been something that takes a little while for critics, and for sophisticated shows to totally take that woman seriously.' 'Hm. There's a lot there to unpack.' 'I was breathless, sorry.' 'No, no.' 'It was a loaded question.' 'No, there's a lot there. I'm really interested with the idea of having to overcome your 'Hannah Montana' days, in the sense of being considered a real artist.' 'Mm-hmm.' 'Right?' 'Yeah, that's what I think it kind of was.' 'Yeah, the machinery of Disney, and how it's been the place that a lot of people have come from.' 'But there were other Disney artists that got nominated in that category. I don't know who else before that, but the Jonas Brothers. But it was boys, and so they didn't have a character to shed. But because I wore a wig and I was a pop star, I remember being brokenhearted because the Jonas Brothers, I believe, got asked to perform with Stevie Wonder. And I never got an opportunity like that as a young girl, when my show had been on air for years before. And I had had everyone on that show — Dolly Parton, we've had Vicki Lawrence, who taught me so many amazing things. So somewhere, it actually was the greatest blessing, though, that those awards never happened. Because I was recognized all the time by millions of people that their identities were being formed by me. There's a part of them that's a little part of me. I love that my reward is that people loved me, and that felt good. But I think, of course, every year never having my name called, and I was just working so hard. And I did feel like — not necessarily saying I am owed it or I deserve it. But it just felt like, what am I not doing? Where's the math? Because I feel like if we're doing the equation, I feel like it equals some sort of validation.' 'I want to talk about the new album.' 'Mm-hmm.' ''Something Beautiful.'' 'Mm-hmm.' 'I've always had a bit of trouble pinning your music down, because you are always experimenting in this way that's innovative. You go through different genres, different types of music. And so I'd love to know what you're trying to do with this album.' 'I have a hard time pinning myself down, too.' [laughs] 'And I wouldn't say that all my albums are even necessarily reflective of what I would say, or who I would say I am as an artist or a musician. Sometimes my albums are experimentation for me, and they end up being shared. And so with 'Something Beautiful,' I wanted to reclaim and reimagine the word beautiful, and what it means to me. Some of the most beautiful moments in my life, I am also very emotional. I cry about everything, so I'm fine. But when I think about being born, the first person that I saw was my grandma. It gets me emotional. And my mom was adopted, and so being able to be put into her arms, and immediately thinking — it's deep. It's way before me, there's so much there. And when I think about these moments in my life, being handed to her when I was first born and then when she passed away, both of those moments were so beautiful to me. And one of them is really joyous and one of them is really painful, but they're equally beautiful. That's why I think I've made this album, is just to reclaim what beauty is. Because I think birth is beautiful. I think death is beautiful. We've been taught that rage or hatefulness, there's not a beauty in it. But it lets you know you're alive, you're feeling something.' 'I'm a big believer in rage.' 'You have to get it out. I had physical pain in my body for years, and I realized it's because I didn't let myself be angry. A lot of women, I think, that I've known go, man, I have hip pain, or I have joint pain. And then I watch them in their lives — 'yes,' 'please,' 'thank you.' My mom does this. She could order a baked potato, a cake could come. And she'll say, thank you so much. She's always polite. And she had all these headaches all the time. And I told her, I was like, Mom, you got to get real mad. So I think rage and anger is something that we should let ourselves feel. But it's just keep it to yourself, you know? Use it. That's what I want to do with the things that make me angry or even hateful.' 'When was the last time you felt rage?' 'You know what? Again, I get way too emotional. But true rage is, I think, the way that — probably to do with my mom, or my sister. It's the way that — it's not rage. Real rage — you know what? I actually know when. Real rage was after I made an album, 'Plastic Hearts.' I felt myself getting caught into an idea of me, this tornado of the idea of me. And I fell for it, and I got inside of it. And when I actually landed and came back down, I realized the vortex I had been in. And when I looked around and thought of the people that I had placed in my life to keep me safe, and they didn't. I had rage. Because I don't need anyone to commit to taking care of me, but don't say you will.' 'I understand that this is sensitive, so forgive me. And you can just move on. But obviously this was the period after your divorce.' 'Weirdly, I'm not talking about him.' 'Yeah, O.K. Because I think people talk about things, but they're not talking about it.' 'No, mine is more just actually in my industry. I have a full new creative team that changed around me who I have in the studio, who I create music with now. And I think this is why my last two albums are the ones where you can hear me the cleanest and the clearest. I trust them and they trust me.' 'What is a Miley Cyrus song?' 'There's two. I heard that there's only two or three genres. There's normal people that make normal music for normal people. Then there's weird people, and we all know that kind of music, that make weird music for weird people. And then there's weird people that have learned how to make normal music, and kind of normal people that know how to make weird music. There's only normal and weird, and that's kind of it. So I think I make normal music and I also make weird music. So 'Flowers' is kind of like normal music, meaning you can understand it. You don't have to question anything after you listen to it. You can just simply enjoy it. And then I like to make weird music, which is like a song on 'Something Beautiful' like 'Prelude,' or the title track, 'Something Beautiful,' that just makes you question a little bit more. So I think Miley's songs are either normal music or weird music. I don't love the middle.' 'The lead single off of 'Something Beautiful' is called 'The End of The World.'' 'Mm-hmm.' 'And you've talked about how it's a song you wrote for your mom in a hard moment. Can you tell me about writing it?' 'Yeah. So that was completely ridiculous, like I said. Me and my mom are very close, but it is ridiculous at some points. Because she went on a vacation to Italy without me for one week, and it felt like the end of the world to the both of us. She called me.' 'That's what the song's about?' 'That was what it was about. I had never had my mom leave the country without me before. And, again, too old maybe to feel that way, but that's how I feel. And my mom called me, and she said, I don't know why, but I just want to cry today. I forgot where they were, somewhere gorgeous. And she's like, I'm looking out my window and there's nothing out there for me, because you're back home. And the first lyric is, 'Today you woke up and you told me that you wanted to cry,' and that was my mom.' 'Hm. You sang the song at the Chateau Marmont, and you got really emotional during it. What was going on there?' 'My mom was right in the front row. And there's a part — it does it to me now — there's a lyric that says, 'You've been thinking about the future like it's already yours.' And to me, that was just a lyric about, not only mortality, but also that every day isn't promised to us. So worrying about the future that may never come is so pointless. But then me thinking about a future without her just breaks my heart. So that lyric gets me every time.' 'You're also releasing a film to go with the album, and that's a first for you. Why did you want to make a film?' 'It's a visual album. And the reason I chose to do it was because I wanted to do one thing extremely well. My stepdad asked me the other day, why are you the only one without a makeup line? I was like, because that's not my passion. He goes, that's the right answer. And it made so much sense. It's like, I don't have a makeup line, because I'm not a makeup artist. Some people operate differently. And Dolly always says, you do you and I'll do me, together we'll be us. This woman has cupcakes — —' 'Dollywood.' '— — done films, amusement parks, all the things. I never felt like that was really for me. And I've always admired that she can and wants. I mean, it's a deep passion of hers. She absolutely adores it. To me, it's me by a piano, writing songs and telling my stories, and then creating a gorgeous visual in support of that. That's what I love to do.' 'It brings to mind a question that I've always had, which is started your career as an actor and a singer, obviously. But you, other than a few brief acting gigs, really kind of left that behind. Why?' 'Well, it's actually really interesting. I got 'Hannah Montana' because I was a singer. So I was singing in Nashville. There was a little place at our mall where you could go and make demos. This is Nashville for you. Nashville is like, we don't have a Build-a-Bear. We have Build-a-Country-Music-Star. So I used to go to the mall and make my demos and write my songs. And they were looking for someone that could really sing — not just record kids music, but actually have music being the heart of the show. So I was chosen to be an actress because I was a singer. So I got known as being an actress, but I actually hadn't acted in anything. I had been in a baked bean commercial with Lee Ann Womack, and I had two lines in a Tim Burton movie one time. I was not an actress. And so I became an actress so I could bring that part to life. And then I've just never really found the role for me. Because I think I am such a character in myself, that to find something that can absorb me completely is really challenging. And I challenge every writer and director out there to bring it to me, because I would love to. I either want to be myself, because I'm really good at that. Or I want to throw me away, because I'm actually pretty good at that, too. I'm not good in the middle.' 'Yeah. I want to take you — we've touched on this — but your upbringing. Obviously, your dad was Billy Ray Cyrus.' 'And is.' 'And is.' 'He's living.' 'He's living.' 'Yeah, he's living.' 'Yeah.' 'Indeed. And I was curious about little Miley. When did you realize that you had this talent, that you could really sing — not just sing-sing, but sing?' 'Well, even more than that, people just used to pay attention to me in weird ways that I noticed. When I would go somewhere, not everyone was being looked at or treated the way that I was. I used to have this thing when my mom — my mom was a total shopaholic when I was a kid. So she would take me to the mall, which is the worst place for a kid with a bad attention span. And my favorite thing to do would be going into the front of the stores and pretend I was a mannequin. And I would hold it for so long. I would not budge. And I would get crowds of people around staring at me, because I was just milking it so hard. And I think they were like, how long is this little girl going to keep up the bit? And I would just do the bit. And so I definitely noticed that there was something magnetic between me and other people. And I don't say they were magnetized to me, we were to each other. With the singing, I would just always sing on stage. And I didn't know if people were just cheering because I was little and it was cute for me to come out and do Elvis songs, or whatever. But I guess I never really thought, oh, I can really sing. I just know that people were reacting, and so that's what I was going off of. I wasn't thinking about is this good or bad. I was just watching people light up and going, yeah. That's what I want, I want you to react to me.' 'I heard you mention briefly in a recent interview with David Letterman that you were bullied in middle school — —' 'Mm-hmm.' '— — before you left for Hollywood and 'Hannah Montana.' I'm the mother of a 12-year-old girl, and — —' 'Ouch. I feel for her.' 'Yeah, middle school is terrible. And I'm wondering what you took away from that period of your life, where all of a sudden you go off to have this amazing success, but you had this really painful time. Why was that happening?' 'I don't know if there was a reason that I was specifically chosen to be bullied. I think a lot of what did it for me in middle school was the attention that I had on me because of my dad. And people, I guess putting onto me that I thought that I was special in this other way. I don't think what hurt them was that I was special, but it was that it just made them feel not special. And I also, as outgoing as I was, middle school was kind of a shy time for me. I kind of shut down at that time, just because bullying just takes so much from you. You just don't want attention. And so I kind of wanted to be under the radar when I was in middle school. I chilled out. When I was in elementary school, I liked all the attention. But then once I got to middle school, I didn't like it so much, because people got too mean, too cruel. And I didn't have all the boyfriends, or anything like that. There's like four guys I'm thinking of that I'm like, you. Like, I really liked so many guys and they just weren't really liking me back quite as much. I just wasn't the most popular girl in school.' 'So you end up going to Hollywood, and you do 'Hannah Montana.' And it's interesting that we've been talking a little bit about getting over Disney. Because I had another former Disney star who's now an actor, Jenna Ortega, tell me that she can always tell in a room who is the child actor.' 'Mm-hmm.' 'That there's a certain noticeable precociousness. She said people just treat you as if you're an adult, and that it kind of warps you. Do you think that that resonates?' 'I was just literally still thinking about middle school. I'm really hoping in the comments of this interview someone goes, Miley's lying. She was really popular in school. And I'm going to be like, oh, my god! I was popular! Maybe I was. That's what I was really totally spacing out when you were saying that.' 'I could tell that you were not with me at all.' 'Because I was really hoping that someone will go, you're just trying to say you weren't popular. You totally were. I really hope that I was, but I don't think I was. But maybe I was. But my point about that with the child acting, it actually correlates to that, because I don't know how she feels about it. I've never actually got to speak to her. I would totally love to. I think people that grew up in the same position would be really sick to do a roundtable.' 'I think you should all be in a group chat.' 'Totally. Ariana says that there should be the therapy for child actors, which I totally agree. There should be a weekly check-in. There should be a better system of community. Because I don't know her. I would definitely love to. I think that I've done — so this is only me, nothing to do with what she said.' 'Of course.' 'I've been doing very consistent therapy since I was 17 or 18 years old. And so I think I've cleared up a lot of the feelings that I had about being a child star. And so now I don't notice it so much, because I don't notice it in me. It's always about us. I've realized that anything that you're paying attention to usually is just a reflection of something else that you feel. So I feel so cleaned up. I cleaned so much of any of that old stuff that I held on to, that now when I walk into a room, I don't really notice it. I guess the only thing that I would say is, I do notice when people are working too hard. To challenge myself on what I just said, maybe I actually do notice. Because I met Sabrina Carpenter a couple of times, and every time I see her, I have the urge to ask her if she's OK. Are you doing good? Are you getting enough sleep? Because she's performing in Ireland, and then the next day she's doing a show in Kansas. And I'm like, I don't know how that could be physically OK, because I was in that situation. So maybe I do notice more, and I kind of have the thing of just wanting to make sure everyone's feeling good. Because I know what it feels like to fry yourself, and I just don't want anyone to get fried. But I like all the new girls. I think they're all very unique, and are very found. That's what like to see. I like people that have found themselves. Because I don't know if I had myself totally figured out yet.' 'Speaking of, a lot of young stars have had to find themselves in the limelight, and yours was a similar journey. There was a lot of scrutiny, a lot of discussion. When you look back at that period, 2013, when you were on stage with Robin Thicke, and getting a lot of criticism for twerking at the V.M.A.s.' 'All you have to say is 2013, I know where we're going.' 'Yeah, yeah. Well, I guess I'm wondering, while you were shedding your Disney persona and becoming an adult in the public eye, when you look back at that period, what do you see?' 'I see adult, not acting like it. That's what I see. Because I would never look at someone that's 18, 19, 20, 21 years old and judge them as an adult, because they're not yet. And I'm 33. So there was definitely — at one point, I think there was even a petition. It was like, Millions of Moms against Miley, or something. I would never — —' 'Sorry, I'm laughing.' 'But it's true. Did you sign the petition?' 'Huh?' 'Is that what made you laugh? I'm just messing with you.' 'Oh, my god!' 'You looked like you were like, [unclear].' 'That was me!' 'Isn't that crazy, this petition? Now it seems very soft, if you look at culture today. In 2013, maybe it felt really shocking. But at the end of it, when you watch it back, it really wasn't that wild. I mean, I was dressed as a Teddy bear. And when you look at culture now, young people, they sing about sex all the time. And, by the way, they sang about sex way before I did, too, so that's the thing. But, for me, I think what I see in myself is being bold, and courageous, and having the guts. And I see myself being authentic to me. That's what I was doing.' 'In the same vein, you've said that you'll never be able to live down the image of you swinging naked on a wrecking ball, which I don't know why.' 'I don't need to live it down.' 'Yeah. Which you did in the music video for the song. Sinead O'Connor wrote an open letter to you after the 'Wrecking Ball' video was released.' 'I responded in a way that I would never as an adult. But that was also an adult talking to a young person.' 'Yeah, she wrote, 'The music business doesn't give a shit about you or any of us. They will prostitute you for all you're worth, and cleverly make you think that it's what you wanted.'' 'That sounds, again, something that the more sophisticated you are, you can start to notice. When we say, I know that I say things, and I think at the end of it we both — let me retract that. The way I would say it is, that feels like her experience being reflected on to me. But that's not my experience. My experience was not that the music industry didn't care about me.' 'Yeah, that's what I was wondering, if looking back those words have a different resonance now, or you just see them differently.' 'No, I still don't feel that way. But I also came from a very different upbringing, where I've known fame since the moment that I was born. I've never known anything else. And so I think I was really well prepared in a way that someone — it's really hard to train yourself to know what to expect, everything that fame can bring. But I already had the handbook, because they did the same thing to my dad, and to Dolly, and to everyone around me. Dolly's a great example of that. And so I felt that — you know what I think it is? I understand the business I'm in. I'm in the music industry. I'm in the record business. So when I sign a contract, they're buying records that they wish to sell. So I understand that I am setting myself up to become merchandise. I'm committed to them that I want to, not only bring success for myself, but to them also. So I just understand the music industry. And at one point in my life, I look forward to just being an artist — untied, untethered. At some point, I'll get to do that.' 'I guess I was thinking also of Sinead, because you did her song 'Nothing Compares 2 U' on 'SNL 50' this past February. And considering the history, I was wondering why you chose her song.' 'Well, it was actually Lorne Michaels' request.' 'Ah.' 'Lorne asked me to do 'Nothing Compares 2 U.' It was originally Mark Ronson's idea, who was kind of creative directing the music. And so that initially didn't come from me. But I thought it was a great idea. Because I think we all had, again, talking about those band aids on heartaches and wounds, of course, this interaction that I had with Sinead bums me out, because I really respect her as a person, as an artist. And so it was my way of paying my respects.' 'I find the relationship between female pop stars to be really interesting, and often very fraught.' 'Divas.' 'Is that what you think is happening?' 'I mean, probably on my end. I don't mind the word diva. Maybe I'm a little diva.' 'I don't mind the word either.' 'It's kind of cool.' 'Yeah.' 'It's like, it's a fantasy. You can be a diva. You don't have to even be famous to be a diva. Just be a diva. Diva does not mean difficult for no reason, that's not a diva.' 'Do you think you're difficult?' 'Not for no reason. I'm difficult, but not for no reason.' 'I was just surprised that you have said that you don't feel part of the cohort of singers of your generation and age group.' 'Yeah.' 'Not that I think, again, everyone needs to have a group chat.' 'Yeah.' 'But that you've held yourself apart in a certain way. And I was wondering why you think that is.' 'I don't think it's so much of a conscious choice. I think, for me, my persona or the public's idea of me is on in some way. But in my own time, I am very off. I like no makeup, my hair up messy. I don't even look in the mirror in my own time. And it's not that I haven't found it, because I haven't looked very hard. I'm sure girls in my community are going, well, that's me, too, and you haven't reached out. It's like, no, I haven't. I haven't looked very hard. So no, I haven't found it, but I haven't really looked. I like doing my two worlds. Maybe it's something subconsciously from the show. From 'Hannah Montana,' where I think my famous person has one life, and then as a regular person I have another life, I think maybe subconsciously it programmed me — not even joking — to think that who I am at home and who I am as a performer are two separate identities, and actually they are.' 'It's almost like the superhero cape.' 'It's definitely a superhero cape, but it's drag. That's why when RuPaul started coming into culture, I was like, I get this. This is what I do also. It's like, the minute I put on a gown, I'm somebody else.' 'You've talked about how close you are with your mom. She obviously managed you. Your grandmother was the head of your — —' 'Fan club, yeah.' '— — fan club. You had this really strong female lineage. I don't know the story, though, about how Queen Dolly became your godmother. Why did that happen?' 'It was actually because of 'Hannah Montana,' because she played my aunt on the show. But I've known her since I was a little girl, because my dad did music with her when I was just a baby. And so then I hadn't seen her since I was very young, and we got really tight during the 'Hannah Montana' time. I think she looked at a little girl in a blond wig and was like, I see you. And there was something just very divine and kismet. We're not blood, but we're family, truly. She said when we first started getting very close, I never felt this kind of, like a daughter. She's really held me like a daughter.' 'So she was the godmother you chose?' 'Yeah. And she chose me, really.' 'Right.' 'We chose each other. She walked in, and she had on a baby pink robe and smelled like baby powder — her whole thing, her whole face, the hair, the wig, the whole thing. And everyone was kind of in awe of her. And I remember thinking that I didn't feel that. Because when you see her at first, it's just so incredible that you're kind of taken aback by just how much power she holds. But instead of seeing myself retract in awe of her, I just felt myself going forward and just feeling really safe again. And it also felt like I can do this for the rest of my life, and I can be happy. Because she just is so happy and has so much joy. And you see the celebrities that don't have joy in their life, and she's someone else that obviously had a super private relationship and a private life. And it was just something I always admired. More than the way that she looks or the way that she performs, I admired her staying true to herself. And being at home with her husband, Carl, who she just lost. And having a real life and having a lot of love in it.' 'I do wonder at this point what it's like for you to have grown up so famous, and to also be part of this famous family. Because in the past few years your mom remarried, and that caused some rifts in your family.' 'Mm-hmm.' 'Your dad has a new relationship with Elizabeth Hurley.' 'Yeah.' 'And all this stuff gets picked apart endlessly in the media, on social media.' 'Mm-hmm.' 'And it must be complicated to have all that stuff play out publicly.' 'Yeah. The thing I like about the new way that the world works is that everything is so fast, it's forgotten really quickly. Like, if you remember in the '90s, when something happened in a tabloid, remember how it would just happened for a year? And now it's just gone. And so that's the one thing that I like about it is how fast social media moves now. It just eats everything. So something may seem really important for a couple hours, but then there's a meme that goes viral. Somebody scats at Walmart or something, and that becomes the next thing. So it's difficult for us, because anything that's happening in the public, it can be embarrassing for the person that's experiencing it. Not so much for me. I try to just be more compassionate to my parents, because I hate that for them. And I mostly hate it for my siblings that have chosen to not be in this industry because they didn't choose that kind of highlight on themselves. But for me, I've gotten so used to it that I'm like, if the symptom of this is that sometimes we deal with these embarrassing or difficult public opinions, then that's something I'm willing to take to have the life that we have. But it doesn't make it any easier. Mostly what makes me sad about it is for them. Because, like I said, I feel pretty strong and I've taken so much on the chin. I feel like I've stayed strong without ever getting too calloused. I'm pretty open and invulnerable for how much I've been through. But yeah, no one likes to wake up to that. So it sucks, but it's worth it.' 'Yeah. Are you still estranged from your dad?' 'No. I think timing is everything. There's been enough bridges now of time to get us all reconnected. And I think for me, as I've gotten older, respecting my parents as individuals instead of as parents, again, because, my mom's really loved my dad for her whole life. And I think being married to someone in the music industry and not being a part of it is obviously really hard. And so I took on some of my mom's hurt as my own, because it hurt her more than it hurt me as an adult. And so I owned a lot of her pain as mine. But now that my mom is so in love with my stepdad, Dom, who I completely adore, and now that my dad, I see him finding happiness outside of that, too, I can love them both as individuals instead of as a parental pairing. I'm being an adult about it. At first it's hard, because the little kid in you reacts before the adult in you can go, yes, that's your dad. But that's just another person that deserves to be in his bliss and to be happy. So my adult self has caught up. My child self has caught up.' 'You've talked some about therapy, and it's just something I just wanted to ask you, because you've discussed doing E.M.D.R. And I did E.M.D.R.' 'I love it. It saved my life.' 'And I'm just wondering about that, what it did for you, how it helped you.' 'Yeah.' 'Because it's a very specific type of therapy that really is to do with trauma.' 'Yeah, you're going to get me. Oh, that's sweet. The tag on my tea said, 'Take a moment just for you.' So I got to answer this question, but it's for me. The first thing that happened was I was guided to seat myself on a train. Did you do it this way, where you watch it pass you by? And it's so weird, because it's like watching a movie in your mind. But it's different than dreaming. You're kind of more in yourself, but still in another place of consciousness that's really hard to describe unless you've been in that hypnotic state. And I see myself sit down on the train. And he says, just watch your life like a movie, and watch it pass you through the windows. And I see all these times just like frames of these moments, like a film. And he goes, what's the feeling of anxiety that comes up for you when you're performing? And I never even thought about it before. But in my hypnotic place said, I just want them to love me so bad. And he said, when was the first time you felt that way? And then suddenly the train stopped moving forward and it started going backwards, and I saw myself — this sounds so trippy, but this is medical. This is real.' 'It is real. I've done it.' 'It's real! I saw myself in the womb of my biological grandmother, because my mom was adopted. And I heard my mom's biological parents talking about putting her up for adoption. And I felt myself being inside of her womb as my mother, hearing them speaking about giving her away. And my mom thinking, I just want them to want me. I want them to love me so bad. And then when's the next time you felt that way? Fast forward, I see my mom being handed to my grandmother who adopted her, who's my everything. Loretta, that's my mammy, she was the one that did the meet and greets. So handing to her. And then just like that, I see myself being handed to my grandmother, too, as a baby. So I realize both, because my mom had a really intense, very dangerous pregnancy with me. So I wasn't actually handed to my mom, I was handed to my grandma. So I saw myself being handed to the same woman that my mom was handed to, and I felt our unison right away. And he's like, keep going, keep going. And I found myself on a mountaintop in a place that I had experienced a lot of trauma in the snow in Montana. It was just a moment, a really intense kind of, I guess just being surrounded by nature, it really puts you in your place. And I saw myself there as a little girl in a coat that I used to love, this little red coat with a red beret. And I saw all these people that had brought me so much peace and love all of a sudden show up. So my dog that died a couple years ago, my grandma, my mom — ugh, it'll get me — my boyfriend that I have now. And they all grabbed me by the hands and we started playing Ring Around the Rosie. And I came out of it, and I've never had stage fright again, ever!' 'Wow.' 'I don't have stage fright anymore. Now, I did more sessions, because there was so much more under that.' 'Right.' 'But I think the thing that I had of I want them to love me so bad, it wasn't mine. It was my mom's. And I think maybe it pained me for her to carry it, so I've been carrying it for her. I do that sometimes, so that's something I'm working on.' [music playing] 'After the break, Miley and I speak again about what her fame has done to her family.' 'I think it would be delusional for any of us to think that that doesn't add a level of complication to our already complicated dynamic.' [music playing] 'Hi, it's Miley.' 'Hi, it's Lulu.' 'Hi, Lulu. How are you?' 'I'm really good. How are you?' 'Very good. Good to talk to you.' 'Good to talk to you, too. Are you home?' 'Yes, I'm so happy. I was gone a while, so just getting back in my bed is just bliss. I'm so happy.' 'Yeah, heaven. I feel you.' 'Yeah.' 'It was just Mother's Day. I was thinking about and Tish. I was wondering what you all did.' 'We're very simple, so we didn't do much. We cooked breakfast. Me and my sister brought my mom flowers, and just sat in the kitchen and caught up. Somehow I got the duty of cooking breakfast for six people, so there was that.' 'Are you a good cook?' 'I can do the simple things. I'm country enough that my seasoning is appropriate. It's like, enough salt on anything is good.' 'When you were talking about your mom, and your relationship with your mom, you talked about holding this emotional baggage. And I think the phrase you used was 'owning her pain.'' 'Mm-hmm.' 'And it made me wonder about your dad, and if you ever felt the same about your dad. Because you've talked before about his rough childhood, about his own upbringing, his own struggles.' 'Definitely. I have a lot of grace for him. My dad grew up in severe poverty, not always having indoor bathrooms. And he had rarely, if at all, gone to the dentist by the time he actually met my mom. No doctor's appointments. He was raised in a super small town in Kentucky. I spent some of my life in Nashville, but most of it was in LA, and Toluca Lake in a safe neighborhood. And I just can't even compare our upbringings in any way, shape, or form. I think I might have mentioned my granddad — maybe I didn't — was a Democratic state legislator.' 'Uh-uh.' 'And so he, in every way, was a politician. And in that way, he was a showman, too. And so my dad had some polarities in his life, because when he was with his dad, he was living a completely different life than when he was with his mom. And they grew up, they all pretty much shared one living space. And again, they didn't always have the clean essentials, and had a really hard time in school. So I definitely have a really compassionate place in my heart for my dad's upbringing that I can't really quite understand.' 'And by the way, if at any point you don't want to answer any of this, just tell me.' 'I appreciate that.' 'Because I know that this is sensitive. The reason I wonder about this is you worked so much with your dad, and then you surpassed him in success. And I wondered if you ever thought he felt competitive or eclipsed by that.' 'That, I think, has added a level of complexity within my family, for sure. And, like you said, I think it would be hard for anybody with a dream to see somebody else achieving theirs in a way that you see for yourself. But I do think that kind of love conquered all in that sense of he can still find the pride in me. But I think it would be delusional for any of us to think that that doesn't add a level of complication to our already complicated dynamic.' 'Have you felt guilty about it?' 'I got rid of my guilt and shame in E.M.D.R. That was a big part of that. So at times in my life, I think I've just felt guilt and shame was a driver for me a lot. I had a hard time accepting that I could suffer because of how blessed I am. I don't think it's actually really played too much of a part between me and my dad. Because I have to have the faith that, like any dad, he would want this for me.' 'Something we didn't talk about last time is sobriety.' 'Mm-hmm.' 'You've talked about how you needed to get sober to protect your vocal cords. I'm a fellow sober person.' 'Love it.' 'Yeah, it's been about two and a half years. I know there was discussion in your family about your dad's sobriety. Did you ever talk to him about that, about your own journey, and about if it could help him or not?' 'I think he has a bit of a harder time completely enjoying being sober. I kind of enjoy it. I think my dad is somebody that's like, that would be real nice right now. My dad always calls it a good bad habit — things that make you feel good, but they're bad. I grew up in a different generation. Where my dad grew up between the '60s and the '80s, it wasn't normal for you to have your psychiatrist on speed dial. So I think my dad just didn't really have the support. And I think above all the steps, I think support in sobriety has got to be a top tier of importance.' 'So you never talked to him about it?' 'We don't avoid it, but it's just not really something that's our table talk. I think me and my dad like to talk about music and movies. It's not something that's ever been our focus, but probably should be. We probably should talk about that at some point.' 'We ended our last conversation talking about your experience with E.M.D.R.' 'Mm-hmm.' 'And you were basically describing how you worked through intergenerational trauma in your sessions. And it did make me wonder, given all that, is being a parent something you're interested in?' 'It's not something I'm focused on. For being such an opinionated, kind of sure person, this is an element in my life that I've always been not super attached to a yes or no answer. So I think I was telling you I was talking to my stepdad and he said, why are you the only celebrity without a makeup line? And I said, because I'm not passionate about it. And he said, that's the right answer. I feel that way about motherhood. It's just never been something that I've been overly passionate about. It's a lot of responsibility, and it's a lot of devotion and energy. And if you're not passionate about that, I don't know how you do sleepless nights and 18 years of what my mom dealt with. And when I say 18 years, I mean 33, because I'm still a baby. So I've never felt the burn, you know? And I think, for me, the burn is everything.' 'Last question. As we were discussing how meaningful your Grammy win was, it made me wonder about your relationship to mainstream success. I mean, how important is that to you? Because you had this whole discussion about weird music, and how you like weird music and how you like popular music, and sometimes those two things are in tension.' 'Mm-hmm. Well, actually, I think it's winding down, my attachment to mainstream success.' 'Huh.' 'I kind of feel like this album, it's definitely not a last lap. I'm definitely not going 180 in my career necessarily right now. But I think it's potentially the last time I'll do it exactly this way. I'm taking a big bet on this one. I'm all in, but I don't think I'll put myself in a position that I add this much pressure to myself again. I think I have on this one because of the level of commitment. There's a lot of pressure, and a lot of things are going to change about that for me towards the end, in the beginning of next year. That's really kind of my focus of using this year to wind that idea that I've had of myself down. There's a song on the album called 'Reborn,' and it's kind of about this. And I feel like next year, for me, is going to be this rebirth of how I do things and how I look at my career. But yeah, I feel like this, for me, is I'm starting to wind down on the pressure and not do it like that again.' [music playing] Suscríbete: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | iHeart | NYT Audio App Sabes, te he entrevistado antes. Me resultas muy familiar. No, nunca nos vimos porque yo estaba en NPR. ¡La voz! Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
7 hours ago
- New York Times
TikTok Made Addison Rae Famous. Pop Made Her Cool.
A couple of years ago, when Addison Rae went to pitch herself for a deal with Columbia Records, pop stardom was not a guarantee. She was best known as one of TikTok's breakout stars, someone who had used the app to catapult from anonymity to ubiquity, but as a dancer and personality — not a musician. And some early demo recordings she didn't love had recently leaked online, and she wanted to distance herself from them. So instead of presenting a set of sonic ideas, she came into the meeting with a mood board in a binder. First there were the descriptors: words like 'intentional,' 'intense,' 'loud,' 'dance,' 'glitter.' Then there were the colors: aquamarine, hot pink, purple, yellow. And then the screen grabs of superstar live-show touchstones: Britney Spears's 'I'm a Slave 4 U' at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, Madonna's Girlie Show tour, and so on. It worked — she landed the deal. But what came next was a conundrum, Rae said in an interview last month on Popcast, The New York Times's music podcast: 'I was like, I know what I want people to feel when they hear my music, but what does that sound like? And what am I going to say?' Those questions set Rae on a year-plus mission of refining her public image, one that was forged in the relentless algorithmic fires of TikTok and that has lately seen her remade as a savvy pop ingénue. This week, she'll release 'Addison,' her debut album and one of the year's signature pop releases. (Its original title was, in fact, 'Mood Boards.') It's a breathy, sweaty, urgent album — more a throwback to the sonics of three decades ago than a conversation with contemporary pop. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
Miley Cyrus Says Dad Billy Ray Is 'Finding Happiness' in His New Relationship With Elizabeth Hurley
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Miley Cyrus is leaving the family drama behind her, or at least she's trying to. The singer has been in promo mode as she celebrates the release of her new album Something Beautiful, and during a recent stop by The New York Times' The Interview podcast, Miley opened up about her relationship with her dad and even addressed Billy Ray's relationship with Elizabeth Hurley. Speaking about her sometimes complex relationship with her parents, Miley said that she 'took on some of [her] mom's hurt' when Tish Cyrus and Billy Ray divorced in 2022, which led to her estrangement form her father. Miley didn't even thank Billy Ray in her Grammys accptence speech, fueling more rumors of a Cyrus family feud. But now that her mom is married to actor Dominic Purcell and Billy Ray is dating Elizabeth, Miley says she feels like her 'adult self has caught up.' She continued, 'My mom is like so in love with my stepdad Dom, who I also just completely adore. And now that my dad, I see him finding happiness outside of that too, I can love them both as individuals instead of as a kind of, you know, a parental pairing.' 'At first, it's hard,' Miley said of seeing her parents back in the dating pool. 'The little kid in you reacts before the adult in you and go, 'Yes, that's your dad, but that's just another person that deserves to be in his bliss and be happy.'' This show of public support comes about a month after Miley commented on the family feud and announced that she and her father had reconciled. 'My dad and I have had our challenges over the years. Now, in my thirties, family is my priority above all else. I'm at peace knowing bridges have been built and time has done a lot of healing,' she wrote on her Instagram Stories. Billy hasn't commented on his renewed family relationships, but he has been very public with his new love. Elizabeth and Billy Ray hard launched their on Instagram six weeks ago with an Easter post featuring Billy Ray wearing green bunny ears and kissing Elizabeth on the cheek, and they've been posting about each other ever since. No word on whether or not Miley's hung out with them yet, though. You Might Also Like 70 Impressive Tiny Houses That Maximize Function and Style 30+ Paint Colors That Will Instantly Transform Your Kitchen
